The present invention relates to an improvement in mounts for railings, especially on balconies and more especially on balconies made with wood substrates and having lightweight concrete tread surfaces.
Multifamily buildings often have balconies and, where code permits, are often framed with wood. The supports for the balconies extend outward from outer building walls and are often made of wood such as 2×10's. The supports have a wooden deck (particularly plywood or chipboard) topped with a lightweight concrete.
The balconies also need to have railings to protect occupants of the finished dwelling. Aluminum is a preferred railing material for durability and light weight. The railings need to be strong enough to prevent impacts from dislodging the railings from the balcony and, in the balconies discussed above have conventionally been anchored to the wooden support and deck in order to have a strong base.
This form of construction has been found to be cost-effective. An important precaution, though, is that the wooden support and deck must be shielded from water ingress. Penetrating water causes early failure and needs to be avoided.
Usually, a shield to prevent water from getting to the wood is installed, and conventional railing anchors with affixed posts are mounted to the deck so they extend upward as what the trade calls a “missile.” Then the concrete is poured. However the missile acts as a large protuberance that can cause its own problems. Workers building the dwelling often use the doorway to the balcony to move construction materials into the building and to remove debris. During those movements, the materials or the worker may collide with the missile, dislodging it and damaging the water-tight seal. Repairing such damage is quite expensive. Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved railing support for a wooden balcony having a lightweight concrete tread surface.